You don’t normally affiliate turkey looking with infinity swimming pools, themed visitor rooms, and trophy shows full of untamed recreation from the African plains. However that’s precisely what awaited when onX Maps invited a small crew of outside writers, {industry} insiders, and seasoned hunters (together with yours actually) to hunt low-dollar birds on a high-dollar ranch.
These Rio Grande turkeys had been tucked into the comb on a Texas exotics ranch that’s higher identified for axis deer and imported antelope. Admittedly, I had fairly conservative hopes. In spite of everything, I don’t actually take into account myself a lot of a turkey hunter.
Toss in an unfamiliar and unproven location for a subspecies of chook I’d by no means hunted, and I used to be all however prepared to assert defeat earlier than the hunt even started. The end result, nonetheless, ended up being an odd and delightful mix of luxurious and wildness that one way or the other labored.
The Setting: Two Dot Ranch, Central Texas
Positioned within the scrub-brushed coronary heart of Central Texas, Two Dot Ranch is what occurs when old-money ranching aesthetics meet a safari clothing store’s fever dream. The property has dall sheep, oryx, blackbuck, and axis deer grazing behind excessive fences.
Limestone hearth pits and cathedral-style trophy rooms wait again on the lodge. The infinity pool seemingly flowing off into the desolate, thirsty floor under added an extra contact of disconnect. It’s a bit like seeing a million-dollar house in the midst of a housing undertaking — one thing so at odds it feels nearly prison.
Don’t get me flawed, it’s a shocking property. It’s simply onerous to absorb and actually comprehend the dichotomy.
All that being stated, after we get right down to brass tacks, this isn’t a turkey looking vacation spot — or, at the very least, it wasn’t.
Turkeys had by no means been hunted on this ranch earlier than. Our group was stepping into pretty blind, chasing birds with zero looking strain and no earlier calling. These gobblers had no concept what a turkey hunter even was.
All of it gave the impression of a slam dunk till you keep in mind that turkeys are, effectively, turkeys.
And so they occur to be jerks for those who’re a turkey hunter.
The Birds: Wild, Wily, and Smarter Than Us
Regardless of the high-end environment, the Rio Grande wild turkeys on the property didn’t make issues straightforward. They moved like ghosts by way of mesquite flats and oak scrub. They typically used the identical fences meant to comprise unique species as cowl and escape routes. We watched gobblers skirt property traces, hold up simply out of vary, and vanish into the comb as if they’d been pressured for seasons.
Simply to reiterate, I’m not a turkey hunter. What I imply by that’s that I’ve, certainly, hunted turkeys. I’ve not, by any measure, put a lot of any effort into studying and perfecting that hunt. Turkey looking is often a aspect quest for me if I occur to come back throughout them within the spring bear woods or the autumn elk hills.
So … How Does One Hunt a Turkey on a Luxurious Ranch?
The distinction between chasing a chook right here and just about wherever else is fairly slim. Shut up and maintain nonetheless. That’s the secret to bringing a turkey into an affordable vary, no matter your weapon of alternative.
Camo, for this explicit species, appears like an absolute necessity. Birds see by way of motion, so for those who mix in, maintain nonetheless, and toss out simply the proper combo of cluck and purr, you’ll have a dang good shot of bagging tomorrow’s leftovers.
The key distinction on this ranch is ensuring you don’t unintentionally pepper a zebra within the course of.
Like all males of most species, they get a bit derpy across the breeding season. They’re fairly keen to come back discover you, in the event that they suppose you’ll provide them an opportunity to shoot their shot. Which, sarcastically, is ideal if you’re additionally seeking to shoot yours.
Being the non-turkey hunter of the group felt like I used to be treading into new territory, chasing birds I knew nothing about, and positive to be a hindrance to our total success.
As an alternative, over the course of the week, the crew, myself included, tagged 4 mature toms. All of it culminated with a last-minute chook taken by outside author Eddie Nickens. He managed to bag his simply earlier than heading to the airport, working on nothing however Crimson Bull and a decent journey schedule.
The Individuals: A+ Camp Vibes
What made this hunt work was not simply the birds or the novelty of the situation. It was the folks.
The camp crew included a mixture of hunters, storytellers, skeptical Texans, and {industry} professionals. These had been individuals who knew methods to name birds, combine drinks, and throw a well-timed jab in dialog. Brooks Hansen from Camp Chef stored everybody fed with outrageously good meals comprised of wild recreation, fish, and ranch-raised meats.
The distinction in personalities ranged from hilariously loud to quietly snarky and every little thing in between. There’s one thing in regards to the people in your camp that may make or break the vibe of any hunt, profitable or not.
I’m sure that we might have retreated from the comb empty-handed on the finish of the week and nonetheless had fun. I may also attest that almost all media hunts don’t have that laid-back vibe.
To be blunt, I typically ask who can be attending these journeys earlier than I ever give the massive thumbs as much as my attending. It is a journey the place the attendees record gave me a sigh of aid, realizing I used to be within the firm of cynical jokesters who would discover as a lot enjoyment within the turkey woods as they might across the hearth.
The beer was chilly. The conversations had been trustworthy. For as soon as, nobody appeared in a rush to get again to the actual world from this “work” journey.
The Gear: What Labored within the Subject
It wouldn’t be a GearJunkie hunt and not using a breakdown of the gear, proper?
onX Hunt App
I don’t know many hunters who don’t already use onX, however on this explicit journey, I realized a heap of recent suggestions and tips to make utilizing it slicker. I received’t dive too deep as a result of that might be an entire article all by itself (fortuitously, Sean McCoy already wrote a fairly slick article about it), however I offers you this gem:
Maintain two fingers down on the display screen in areas you need to know the space of, and it’ll toss up a brief line measurement that disappears shortly after you let go.
To say I’ve a pile of useless traces with distances I don’t even care about is an understatement. These days are actually gone.
I don’t know what I might do with out onX, truthfully. It’s develop into each my most used looking software and my straight-up navigator. I even use it for instructions.
Primos Turkey Calls
There’s no technique to clarify how dang purdy this yr’s Customized Field Calls from Primos are. A mixture of slate calls, diaphragms, and field calls had been used throughout the vary in various frequency to name within the Toms. Aside from this yr’s customized field, the tried-and-true Heartbreaker made a couple of look.
Enjoyable truth: In case you didn’t know, each single field name that leaves Primos is hand-tuned earlier than it makes it to your door.
Mossy Oak Camo
I’ve little or no expertise with Mossy Oak. Rising up within the West, we had minimal moss and definitely no oak. The terrain being what it was, I’m undecided I’d go along with the Full Foliage sample for central Texas, however the outcomes communicate for themselves.
The Tibbee Flex Vented Hoodie was snug, breathed effectively, and definitely didn’t break the financial institution so far as looking tops go. I’ll find yourself ordering one in Bottomland for the in-between brown seasons out west.
Camp Chef
Brooks Hansen, the camp chef from Camp Chef, a world-renowned (or at the very least outside industry-renowned) grasp of the grill, has accomplished it once more, of us. He cooked us up some meals that can’t be beat on grills despatched down from Camp Chef, and I’m offended at him for it. His meals at all times tastes higher than mine, and now I’ve to purchase one other dang grill.
I feel we regularly discuss in regards to the objects we’ll find yourself having to purchase after these journeys, however the Gridiron 36 is already in my cart, simply ready for payday. It’s every little thing I’ve needed in a flat-top grill, and seeing it in motion has compelled me to just accept that it’s time, finances be damned.
Ultimate Ideas: Can Luxurious and Wildness Coexist?
This hunt wasn’t typical. It wasn’t what most hunters consider once they image turkey camp. But it surely was actual. The birds had been wild. The problem was respectable. And the setting, though bordering on absurd, added to the expertise.
I’ve an odd appreciation for the hunt tradition of Texas. It’s largely bewilderment and confusion, with a contact of caprice and envy, and an total tone of WTF. That’s a superb factor, I feel.
It’s definitely its personal place and strikes to its personal drum. There was one thing becoming about chasing common recreation in a spot of such opulence. It felt on-brand for me.
The takeaway right here is easy: You possibly can hunt turkeys the place they’ve by no means been hunted earlier than. You possibly can sit in opposition to a mesquite tree with somebody you simply met and go away feeling like lifelong associates. And you’ll chase wild recreation in a spot with valet parking and chandeliers, so long as you’re prepared to toss your boots off on the door.
Simply don’t neglect your calls and perhaps pack one respectable shirt. Ingesting bourbon in dusty camo below a crystal chandelier will make anybody really feel only a bit misplaced.
